Man City star Khadija Shaw reveals Usain Bolt advice and support

The Jamaica international, signed in 2021, has continued her superb scoring form from last season when she registered 20 league goals, amid 31 for City Women in all competitions.

Khadija Shaw has reminded her Manchester City teammates to "keep pushing" as they approach the new year. It comes following their successful end to 2023, which saw them secure several victories pre-winter break.

Manchester City women's team celebrated a significant win against Manchester United in an Old Trafford derby and hammered Tottenham 7-0. Subsequent wins followed against Aston Villa and Everton. Leading the scoring charts during these games was striker Shaw who bagged seven goals across the four victories.

Shaw's exceptional effort earned her the Barclays Player of the Month award for December, and as the Women's Super League resumes next week, Shaw currently leads the Golden Boot standings with nine goals. City will be aiming for their first WSL title since 2016 and Shaw insists on pushing harder to win the league.

"We just have to keep pushing, keep improving, just focus on what we can control, and we'll see."

"It's about being consistent. We've had some really good results but let ourselves down in other games. Now we're in a good place, it's about just keeping it and keeping the confidence high within the group."

City are three points behind Chelsea, who are nearing the end of their final season under manager Emma Hayes and are aiming for their fifth straight WSL crown. They have suffered a major blow, however, with star player Sam Kerr sidelined due to an ACL injury.

City's Shaw revealed: "I don't tend to look at what's going on on the outside, because no matter what is, if we don't get points then none of that matters. We just have to focus on ourselves."

The Jamaican player, who joined in 2021, has kept up her outstanding scoring record from last season when she netted 20 league goals - out of a total of 31 goals for City.

Shaw scored a brilliant hat-trick against Everton despite missing an early penalty opportunity, putting her one goal ahead of her tally this time last year as they go into the winter break.

When asked about possibly surpassing 20 league goals this term, she said: "I think it's definitely possible especially when I look back on last season, with the amount of opportunities and chances we created, I think I should have scored even more."

The 26-year-old player, affectionately known as 'Bunny', has scored 60 times in total for City, but she has the desire to continue improving her game:

"I think for me the sky's the limit. I think there's a lot more room to improve, especially when I watch back my videos. It's about keeping my head down, working hard on the pitch, building good relationships with my team-mates and just keep pushing on."

Shaw also shared her thoughts on the support she's been receiving from fellow Jamaica native Usain Bolt, saying: "He's always been supportive. We speak about my progress. We have a good relationship. When he's in town he lets me know and we will link up.

"In certain aspects, if I'm struggling, whether that means strength work, I'll reach out to him. We had a really good conversation in March and he told me some things I could work on where I could get an edge over defenders, and stuff like that."

"It's just the little things, and he always says the little things matter the most."

City's next game is against Durham in the FA Cup this weekend, followed by a match with Liverpool in the WSL.

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.